Finding Stability, Creativity, and Inclusivity: Sheena Irvin’s TripleTen Story

“Good enough” has a powerful gravitational pull — especially when it comes to a career. Does your job pay the bills? Can you stomach the work you’re doing every day? Can you disconnect and at least not think about dreary tasks for a little while? Yeah — yeah, sure. It’s fine.

But what happens when a major event shatters all your rationalizations? What do you do when you realize “good enough” was a trap all along? 

If you’re Sheena Irvin, you take a good hard look at your career. Then, you reinvent and reinvigorate your professional prospects by choosing a new path entirely. 

Here’s how she landed a career that went far beyond “good enough” with the help of TripleTen.

The end of sixteen years in sales

After making the decision not to complete her degree, Sheena entered the workforce. Without a clear idea of what she wanted to explore or commit to, she figured any path that paid well was as good as any other. So she joined sales, eventually landing a role in mortgage sales. It was, well, a job.

I went with the job that was going to pay the most, not necessarily focusing on what I’m really excited about doing. So I stuck with that for 16 years — way too long. Sheena Irvin, TripleTen grad

According to her, she was in “survival mode.” Then came the pandemic. “When COVID hit, a lot of mortgage industries did a massive layoff, and I was a part of that group,” she said. “And at that point, I really sat down and thought, ‘Okay, I need to think about what I really want to do and take advantage of this opportunity.’“

See, even though she had been in a career she hadn’t found all that inspiring, she had still excelled. Before she was laid off, she had been the top female producer as well as a top-1% producer for that company. The idea that someone with such a stellar track record could be so unceremoniously dismissed shook her faith in sales. “It was like everyone was disposable,” she said.

She started exploring new paths to take. She looked into tech, and liked what she saw when she checked out the work that software engineers do: “I really loved that they were in a position where they can create, they can really manipulate and change websites and just make a really fun experience for all types of users.”

But how to make the switch? She was systematic. She built a spreadsheet that compared all the options in terms of cost, time required, general reviews, and more. TripleTen stood out thanks to the material taught: “When I checked out the syllabus, it was very structured, organized, and it chalked up all the different types of information and foundations that I really wanted to learn.”

It also had one extra mark in its favor. “One of the things that I enjoyed about TripleTen is it talked about women in STEM,” she said. “I really liked the fact that they were paying closer attention to women who were interested in the industry.”

So she decided to join an intro course — and it sparked something in her. “I really loved the language. It wasn't boring or dry. It kept me engaged. It was fun,” she said.

And when she spoke to a TripleTen representative about moving forward, she was more than ready: “I was like, ‘All right, I'm all in. Let's do it. Let's make it happen.’”

A professional power-up

That didn’t mean Sheena was coming into the bootcamp with any illusions, though. TripleTen had been clear: “They were like, ‘Hey, it's not going to be a smooth ride. From beginning to end, you're going to have your ups and downs, but just stick through it and you're going to be fine,’” she said.

Like many TripleTen students, she was working full-time while also studying — she had to pay her bills, after all. For her, staying on top of all of this required discipline. “I would work during the day, and then my evenings and my weekends were dedicated to studying and completing projects.”

But she wasn’t facing the material alone. She found assistance from the tutors — both when she had technical questions and when she needed encouragement. “I felt like I was in over my head and honestly, I didn’t really expect anything from the tutors, but when I expressed that to them, they were like, ‘What you're going through is completely normal. What you're feeling and thinking is totally normal.’”

In fact, she still appreciates the assistance she got from the tutors: “I think that was one of the best parts about the bootcamp.”

But more than that, she also discovered community_{It’s About Community: What Sets TripleTen Apart} and even friendship at TripleTen: “I found other ladies, and we became friends through the Discord channel and leaned on each other when we were going through some challenges with these sprints and projects.”

When she reached the final project, though, she was eager to take it on: “The last project was the most exciting for me because it's combining every single thing that you learned in the bootcamp and applying it, and you have the least amount of guidance with that last project.”

Capping off her time mastering the tech material was energizing for her, and she then moved onto the next stage: the Career Acceleration Program. During this phase, she polished up her resume and portfolio and practiced get-hired skills with hands-on guidance from her career coach_{Career Coaching at TripleTen: What It Is and How It Helps You Land a Job}.

Specifically, the mock interviews turned out to be crucial for her. “I think what really helped me stand out was I went through these practice interviews.”

Reflecting on it, she’s deeply appreciative. 

Now looking back, oh my gosh, I wouldn't have actually gotten this job without the help of the Career Acceleration Program and the coach that was assigned to me. Sheena Irvin, TripleTen grad

And yeah, she got the job.

Landing a career she loves

It wasn’t an immediate thing. In fact, over four months, Sheena sent out tons of resumes. Sometimes, she got discouraged. She’d see the number of applicants to a vacancy and think, “You know what? Somebody probably already in the company probably has a friend, or knows a friend of a friend that is interested, and those guys are probably going to get in.”

But she stayed dedicated. She found a role she liked, sent in her resume, and reached out to a few employees of the company she wanted to join. Her application got picked up, and she passed the screening call thanks to the elevator pitch she’d perfected with the help of her career coach. Then, she aced the technical interview thanks to the experience she gained at TripleTen.

I felt very prepared for whatever they were going to ask me. Sheena Irvin, TripleTen grad

Following that, by being authentic to herself, she made a splash in a team fit interview that was held with the people she’d soon be working with.

Now, she’s an Integrations Specialist at ePay Policy. In this role, she helps make healthcare payments simpler by merging her company’s payment processing page with insurance companies’ accounting systems. It’s the sort of engaging, creative work she’d been looking for. “Not to look or sound like a cheese ball, but I am absolutely in love with my job,” she said. “Every day I get to work on puzzles, learn new things, and fix things.”

I wouldn't be able to do my current job without the knowledge that I gained at TripleTen about how to create API calls and how to create those connections between two applications. Sheena Irvin, TripleTen grad

But it goes beyond just the work itself. “The culture is just absolutely amazing. They really believe in work-life balance.” In addition to that, she’s found the company to be inclusive. “Within my department, the integrations department, I would say maybe 40% of that department is women.”

She’s broken out of do-it-just-because philosophy that brought her to sales, and sometimes she finds herself in awe of just how far she’s come. “I'm just super happy with where I'm at, and I'm just proud of myself for what I accomplished. I'm constantly reflecting and looking back on that like, ‘Wow, I actually did that.’ It feels surreal sometimes.”

Read more stories

Sheena’s not the only one who’s pivoted to a more fulfilling job with TripleTen. Check out our other student stories here.